J-Bay Dream Tour Lay Day

LAY day one for the Billabong Pro J-Bay isn't one of those disappointing starts to a contest where it all looks a bit flat and you know the swell calls are going to be a marginal shout by the event director, Mike Parsons, to try and squeeze the coming rounds onto some vaguely contestable waves. It's the Southern Atlantic Roaring 40s after all and the swell is pumping past the Cape - all that needs to happen is for a slight increase in the southerly angle and J-Bay will start doing its thing. The waiting period for the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay begins today, Thursday, July 9, 2009, and runs through July 19, 2009.

Next week's call

Magicseaweed's forecast is for a set of westerly swells up to and over the weekend which are due to pass the break by, perhaps sneaking a contestable wave on Saturday, before the swell starts to fill in on Monday with accompanying strong winds. It's all in the angles here and a few degrees can make all the difference so it would be a strong call for a pumping Monday/Tuesday - but thus far all the signs look promising - as the initial swell files past the southerly angle should increase.

Hope for this

If you know the break you'll know that strong offshore winds here are not necessarily a bad thing. If it ends up looking like the above swell from May 31st of this year, then those howling offshores could produce a solid set of workable walls for Monday and Tuesday.

Winner: Aussie, USA or SA?

Mick Fanning former ASP World Champion and two-time past winner of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay in 2002 and 2006 will take on compatriots Kai Otton and Phillip MacDonald in his opening heat. However all eyes will be on three other competitors in what is proving to be a vintage year of completion. Will Kelly Slater continue his comeback? Can Joel keep his Dream Tour lead intact? Or, as the majority of supporters on the ground will be hoping, can Jordy Smith win on home soil?

Mike's perspective

We've called Billabong Pro J-Bay competition off for the day, said Mike Parsons, Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Contest Director. We're expecting some swell late Sunday and Monday/Tuesday look promising. At present, the competition format is still undecided. We'll be back tomorrow morning at 7am to assess the conditions.